Improvement in air-engines



MM film N. PETERS, PHOTULUMOGRAPHER. WASmNGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT -EIIcE.

VILLIAM DENKMANN, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT iN AIR-ENGINES.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. 37,155, dated December 16, 1862.

To @ZZ lll/10771, t may concern,.- y

Be it known that I, WILLIAM DENKMANN, of the city and county of Washington, District of Columbia, have invented a certain new and usetullmprovement in Hot-Air or Calorie En gineL 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, making` part of this specilication, in whicl1- Figure 1 is a plan or top view of a locomotive-engine, illustrating my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section at .r m, Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. et is a vertical longitudinal section at y y. Fig. 5 is a perspective view `of a portion ofthe machine on a larger scae. Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section of the cam-wheels and yokes by which the valves are operated. Fig. 7 is a perspective view ot' the cam-wheel. Fig. 8 is a transverse section of the drivingcylinderI at ze, Fig. 3. Figs. 9, 10, 1.1, and 12 are diagrams, showing the different positions of the cylindervalves. Fig. 13 is an elevation illustrating another' form or modltication of the device for operating the said valves.

Similar letters ot' reference indicate corresponding parts in the several views.

The subject of my invention is a caloric-engine in which the air is heated in chambers separate from the dri ving-cylinder one stroke or more in advance of the time at which it is used, and at the instant required is applied in full force to the drivingpiston.

The invention further consists in the use of an air-pump to supply the said heating-chamber with cold air.

To enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to fully understand and use the same, I will proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A represents the bed or main i'rame ot the engine, supported on two main driving-wheels, B B, and a steering-wheel, C, the latterjour- IIa-led in the lower end otl a vertical shaft, c, which may be rotated by a c 1ank-shaft, D, and bevel-gears d, to turn the wheel -in either direction and thus alter' the course of the engine.

VIhe drawings represent one side ofthe engine complete, which, as the two sides a-re'in practice alike, will serve as an illustration for both. 1 therefore proceed to describe the side which is fully represented.

i l l l Il represents a cog-wheel keyed upon the shaft c of the drivingwheels and receiving motion from a pinion, F, upon a crank shaft, G, when the said pinion is thrown into gear with its shaft by means of a clutch, H, operated. by a lever, h. At other times the crank-shaft rotates within thepinion without communicating motion thereto. The crank-shaft receives its motion from a connecting-rod, I, attached to a cross-head, J, working upon a guide-rod, j, in customary manner, and driven by 4the piston 7c of the cylinder K. L represents an air pump cylinder, the piston or plunger l of which is driven, through the medium ot' a rod,`

m, by a lever, M, connected by a rod, m', to the cross-head J. Z l2 are valves opening inward to admit air into the cylinder L. The heating-chambers consist otA two cylinders, each divided in the center, so as to constitute together four separate chambers, N N2 N3 N4, which are heated by furnaces O. 1 2 3 4. are pipes conveying air from the air-pum p to the heating-chambers. 5 6 7 S are pipes conve-ying air from the heating-chambers to the driving-cylinder K. 9 10 11 12 are exhaust-pipes from the driving cylinder. 13 14 15 16 are escape-pi pes from the heatingchambers, which pipes are guarded by valves p and opened at proper times by levers actuated by tappets p upon the shaft Q. r is a pinion upon the shatt C, meshing with a cog-wheel, lt, upon a shaft orsleeve, S, which may work in line with the shaft Q, but (under the present illustration) must rotate at a speed double that ot' the latter. The shaft S carries four cam-wheels, S S2 S3 Seach provided with one long projection, s, and two short projcct'ons, s, the latter located on opposite sides ofthe periphery or ninety degress on each side ot' the long projections s. T 'I2 T3 T`L are yokes surrounded and actuated by the projections s s2 on the respective canrwheels, the long projections s acting to' throw the yokes to the extremities of their stroke in either direction, and the short projections s2 to hold. them in anintermediateposition. 'lhesaidcam-wheels are so placed 'upon the shaft as to impart a successive motion to the various yokes in order to effect the required movement of the valves, aswill be hereinafter explained. t t2 t: t" are rods communicating from the yokes to the valves U U2 U3 U4 of the drivin g-cylinder K. t5 t6 t7 t2 are rods communicating from the same yohes to the valves of the air-pump L. V rep resents an aperture to which a smoke-pipe may be applied.

The operation is as follows: To start the engine, the air-pump must be operated by eX- traneous force to supply three of the four heating-chambers, N N2 N3 N4, with air, the fourth remaining empty. The engine is then ieady for operation. The valves being placed in the position shown in Fig.8, the pressure of heated air will be communicated from the chamber N through the pipe 5 and port 5/ to the froutof the piston. At the same time the air in the rear of the piston 7c is permitted to escape through the port 9 and pipe 9. This action carries the pistons 7c and l to the positions shown in Fig. 3, the valve l opening and admitting a supply of cold air to fill the pumpcylinder L in front of the piston l, While the air which was in the pump behind the piston l is forced through the pipe 1 into the heatingchamber N4. This position of the parts is shown in Figs?) and 9. The heated air Within the chamber N having done its work, the valves are moved to the position shown in Fig. 10, opening the exhaust-port 10 and hotair port 6 while the other ports remain closed'. At the same time the pipe 13 is opened instan-` taneously to permit the heated air within the chamber N to escape. The pressure of air within the heating chamber N2 is thus applied to the rear of the piston k, carrying the pisions k and forward and forcing the air in the I forward end ofthe air-pump into the heatingchamber 1 when the pipe 14 is instantaneously opened to empty the chamber N2. The valves are thenmoved by the cams to the postion shown in Fig. 11, opening the ports 7 1 11', by which the pressure from within the heating-chamber N 3 is applied to the front ot' the piston 7c, the heating-chamber N2 supplied with air from the air-pump, after which the chamber Nis relieved of pressure. The valves are then placed in the position shown in Fig. 12, bringing the chamber NL into action, supplying the chamber N2, and again depleting the chamber N4. Then again in the position shown in Fig. 9, and so on in rotation.

It will thus be seen that by the simple eX- pedient of using four heating-chambers the air is forced into the heating-chambers one stroke in advance of the time it is used, and so heated to a very high degree.

The cylinder and pump-valves may, if preferred, be attached to the same rods working transversely of the cylinders and operated by tappets, as shown in Fig. 13, or in any other suitable manner.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The use of a plurality of separate heatingchanibers operating successively in connection with each workin g end of the drivingcylinder K, substantially as set forth, to admit ofheating the air in advance ot' the time at which it is used.

2. An air-pump,L, employed in combination with heating-chambers, substantially as set forth in the foregoing claim, to supply the said chambers successively with cold air.

WILLIAM DENKHANN. Witnesses:

OoTAvIUs KNIGHT, CHARLES SMITH. 

